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It is time to stop the violence.
This is the call for today's world.
And we can.
We envision communities of peace for all Indigenous Peoples and communities worldwide, where all are included and respected in the Indigenous cultural wisdom of Ayataway: All My Relations harmony with land and each other.
By engaging and coaching community and agency Peacebuilding Circles in Indigenous wisdom skills and tools, we can replace colonization power over dynamics with Indigenous Power With each other.
What our participants say...
"This is reconciliation. This stops the violence. This is healing from substance misuse. This is healing from mental illness. This is transformative Indigenous harmony. This is peace."
Our core principle is that Indigenous cultural relationship wisdom creates communities of wellness, belonging, sustainability, innovation, and peace. Indigenous ways of being set up ecosystems of full system awareness, of belonging and gifted identities, of growing with affirmation, of inclusion and purpose, Seven Generation foresight, and All My Relations respect, reciprocity, sustainability, and harmony.
Peace Circles were a fundamental Indigenous wisdom technology the world over, until global colonization. We base our work in the Circle's wisdom that welcomes our whole, higher selves into being with each other's unique song and purpose. In Circle, we heal, attune with each other, witness, create, understand, and weave collective uplift to transform ourselves and our world.
We believe that good allyship is possible and important for us to become Peacebuilding Communities once again. We work with Allies who collaborate for Indigenous rights and harmonious relations.
“What’s going to stop the violence?"
Our ten-year journey began with this question. We were a mixed group of counselors, three Indigenous knowledge keepers, and a white ally. Every month, we sat together at a table, collaborating to live out our commitment to finding the way to prevent and intervene on violence in all its forms.
Colonization violence had touched each of our lives so deeply. And we all also knew the welcome, warm spirit of belonging and being of Indigenous culture.
We knew where to turn to find answers.
Our founding group of Ruth Alfred, Namgis; Jackson Dionne, Carrier Sekani; Dawna Silver, Metis; and Christine Spinder, Slovak, worked in Circle with Indigenous Elders, counselors, teachers, leaders, healers, students, and artists While weaving, drumming, art making, tea blending, and calling on the land to guide us, we asked them:
“What’s going to stop the violence?"
“How do we work together to change the culture of violence?"
They told us, clear as a bell: Mobilize Indigenous Circle wisdom practices, from nonviolent communication to healing trauma in our bodies and land, from wild plant gathering to governance rights. Base it in cultural and land experiences so that the people live it, and train and support these Circle Facilitators in all the communities. Engage with everyone.
And so we are.
The Restoring Collective works with cooperative and collective principles of inclusion, self-determination, and full consensus on all decisions.
